It was her and Paul’s signature karaoke number, one of the few songs that was within her range and blended their voices together nicely. Plus, most crowds knew it well enough to sing along.

“Oh, right, duh,” Danial slowly nodded. “Do they have that song in Italy?” he turned more pointedly to Enzo.

Enzo cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully. “Yes, we have that song in Italy.” He leaned slightly back in his chair, making a point of taking a slow sip of his drink before continuing. “But with the internet now, you can get any song in any country, you know.”

Laughter rippled through the group as Enzo turned his attention back to Alex. He had gotten more forward since their venue change, slipping a finger under the delicate strap of her dress that had fallen and returning it to her shoulder, brushing the skin of her breast with his hand before taking it away. She didn’t care that this was more action than she’d seen in literal years, that she would never normally be so sexually open with a man—especially not in front of a group like this. It just felt good to be wanted, to be noticed, to have a man treat her like a beautiful object instead of a source of frustration.

The two of them once again got lost in conversation, Enzo’s charm making it so easy for her to be charming, too. Everything she said was just that much funnier; every lull in their conversation was a natural opportunity to touch. At one point, he leaned in to whisper something she could barely hear over the music, pushing back her lush black curls to better access her ear as his soft fingers spanned the length of her neck. She shivered with delight, this foreign feeling of a man with nothing better to do than to touch her.

“Here,” Danial said, materializing behind them as he roughly placed their shots on the table, along with a few wedges of lime. “I had to go get them myself. No one wants to work in this country.” He stumbled back slightly as he pulled his hands away, undercutting the intended pointedness of his words.

Alex looked up at him with the sharpest admonishment she could muster. She could feel him trying to ruin her evening, the closed loop of attraction she was enjoying with Enzo. “I think people work plenty hard here.”

“No, no, he’s right,” Enzo laughed, looking more casual than ever in his linen suit. “We don’t like to work here. There are many more fun things to do in life.” He placed his hand very intentionally on Alex’s knee, opening it slightly as he ran his fingers up a few inches. With his free hand, he wiped a cocktail napkin over the drops of tequila that had spilled when Danial slammed their glasses down.